June 1, 2011
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Freshman Sarah Beth Barnette will transfer from Kentucky, head coach Matthew Mitchell announced Wednesday.
“I appreciate the contribution Sarah Beth made to the Kentucky program,” Mitchell said. “I wish Sarah Beth the very best as she moves forward with her career.”
The Lexington, Ky., native played in 29 of UK’s 34 games during her rookie season. She averaged 1.7 points and 1.6 rebounds in 6.7 minutes per game. The 6-foot-2 forward and former Kentucky Miss Basketball posted a career-high nine points on two occasions. She nailed three 3-pointers vs. Middle Tennessee on Dec. 29, 2010 and again vs. Auburn on Feb. 3, 2011.
The UK Hoops team is coming off another successful season that included charting 25 wins, UK’s first back-to-back 20-win seasons since 2005-06 and 2006-07. The Wildcats also tied the school record for the most Southeastern Conference wins (11), placed second in the SEC race for the second straight season, advanced to the SEC Tournament championship game for the second consecutive season and earned back-to-back NCAA Tournament berths for the first time in 28 years.
The Wildcats now have their sights set on the upcoming 2011-12 season as all but two seniors, Victoria Dunlap and Carly Morrow, return. Mitchell and his staff again welcome one of the best recruiting classes in school history in Azia Bishop, a 6-3 power forward/center from Start High School in Toledo, Ohio and Bria Goss, a 5-10 guard from Ben Davis High School in Indianapolis, Ind. The duo make up the nation’s No. 10 recruiting class, according to ESPN HoopGurlz. Bishop is rated as the nation’s No. 3 post player, according to ESPN’s HoopGurlz rankings while Goss, who is listed as one of the nation’s top 20 players by ESPN HoopGurlz, garnered several postseason awards after her stellar prep career. She earned high school All-America honors by McDonald’s, Parade Magazine and the WBCA and was named the 2011 Indiana Miss Basketball and 2011 Indiana Gatorade Player of the Year.
The Wildcats’ roster also received a boost with the addition of two former McDonald’s All-Americans in Connecticut transfer Samarie Walker (West Carrollton, Ohio) and California transfer DeNesha Stallworth (Richmond, Calif.). Walker, a 6-1 forward who averaged 6.2 points and 5.8 rebounds per game as a freshman at UConn last year, will be eligible for game action following the fall semester in December 2011. Stallworth, a 6-3 forward/center and All-Pac 10 selection, must sit out the upcoming season due to NCAA transfer rules. She led Cal in scoring last season as a sophomore, averaging 13.3 points and 6.4 rebounds a game.
